Pokemon: Tale of Championship
by JRogers384
Summary: -A Return To My Original Format, No Longer Bound By Script- Joseph Moore is a graduate Pokemon Trainer, bound to leave on his adventure as he aims to claim a title worth true glory. Follow his adventure as it is written, if you'd so wish.
1. Chapter 1: Academy Graduation

**Time never waits. It delivers all equally to the same end. Go without falter - and let your heart be your guide. He who guides the hand of fate through power and bonds alone will learn the lesson this teaches. Adventure, Enjoyment, yet also Tragedy, all await.**

 **Chapter 1: Academy Graduation**

My alarm clock rang, the time striking 7:30 AM as I reached my hand over, setting it on the snooze. I brought my arm back and used both to raise myself out of my pillows and sat up in bed. I looked across the small room, seeing my roommate still asleep.

I sighed, knowing that he could sleep through anything. I got out of bed, wearing just boxers and a light t-shirt.

"Well, might as well shower before he wakes up…" I sighed to myself, doing a bit of stretching.

I went over to my dresser and pulled out clothes. A pair of black jeans, a pair of boxers, a white tee with a designer name near the waist and a black jacket to put over that. I slung the outfit over my arm and grabbed the black towel I used, putting it on my shoulder as I opened the door to the bathroom.

I set my change of clothes on the rack and the towel above it, undressing and stepping into the box shower after letting the running water heat up.

My name is Joseph Moore, I'm 17 years old. A student Pokemon Trainer. I hail from the Hoenn Region, and I was enrolled in an academy by my parents to learn the ultimate techniques in Pokemon Battling. Type coverage, battle power, I even got the occasional demonstration of Mega Evolution through my professors.

After I finished my shower I dried off using my towel, setting it in the laundry basket. I changed into the outfit, looking at myself in the mirror and grabbing a comb to brush back my dark brown hair into a slicked state.

I draped the jacket over my shoulder, and walked out of the bathroom, returning to the main section with my roommate's snores now filling the room.

"Hey asshat, wake up." I said, taking one of his pillows away as he began to groan.

His name is Seth Connors, but I call him asshat simply due to the fact that there are some mornings his snores sound like him ripping ass. He had auburn colored hair that looked like it was thrown through the washer a good few times, along with blue eyes, similar to mine.

Seth groaned a bit more, pushing himself up, sighing. "What time is it even?" He started.

"8:00 AM." I said, looking at my digital clock. "You have 30 minutes to shower and dress before our last day of classes starts."

"30 minutes? Shit…" He cursed under his breath, though I still heard. "Eh, I don't think Ms. Zephyr will mind me being late on the last day."

"She hasn't minded you being late on any other day." I scoffed a chuckle.

He laughed too, getting out of bed and grabbing his clothes, a pair of brown shorts with an orange tee, then going into the bathroom to shower and dress.

I slipped into my socks and shoes, deciding to leave him behind a little bit, walking out into the dormitory hallway. Like a lot of other students, Seth and I lived on campus. Teachers and Professors littered the halls often, carrying paperwork to storerooms.

I slipped into my jacket as I walked, passing by other students who were still waking up or already woken up. I stopped at a pair of doors, passing through them and going out to a balcony area where you could see the training field – where even early in the morning, the learning instructors practiced against each other and gave students a strategic field test. Or as most students called it, a "battle you can't win".

"You're up early Moore." I heard a female voice call to me as I heard the clicking of shoes enter the balcony.

I turned out to see Mrs. Collins, my teacher. She and I were pretty good friends, and she was overall a really good battler. I was the first student of hers to push her pretty hard during a 1v1 testing battle, even if I still lost.

"Not really Mrs. C." I said, chuckling. "I'm normally up early, I just slept in an extra half hour today."

Collins slanted herself against the railing that I leaned against to watch battles occasionally. She was dressed in a white button-up with a black dress that hugged her waist down to her knees. She had a single Pokeball attached to her hip, similar to how I did.

"In that case, do you want to have one last battle before you graduate my class?" She then asked.

"That's right, graduation is today." I said, "Well, it's fine with me if you have time."

"Perfect, Lucario and I are always up for a fight with our strongest student." Collins smiled as she walked towards the doors.

I followed close behind as we walked into the elevator that took students and teachers out of the dormitory hallways. We walked out into the battle field, and Collins cleared the previous match that'd been ongoing.

She stood on one side of the battlefield, brushing her short blonde hair from her golden eyes.

"Are you ready Moore?" She asked, grabbing the Pokeball from her waist.

"Ready as ever Mrs. Collins." I smiled, grabbing my own.

We tossed the Pokeballs at the same time, the red laser beams forming the shapes of Pokemon. Hers, a Lucario. It was her pride and joy, a shiny one. It matched the color of her hair, a brilliant, shining yellow with a dark gray adorned everywhere besides it's chest, where it had light blue fur.

My ball formed and shaped into a rather small Pokemon, dark fur coating its body with touches of red at its' head and paws. It stared forward with determined blue eyes, and I smiled. Zorua was a faithful partner to me. We'd bonded after I battled with it so many times during tests and show offs that Mrs. Collins gave it to me essentially as a starter.

Zorua was experienced with fighting her Lucario, as we'd battled it many times.

"I'll let you have the first attack, Moore." Collins said, smiling.

"If you insist, I won't deny." I smiled. "Zorua, use Imprison!"

Zorua's body glowed red and it sent a blast at Lucario, forming several red seals around it's body. At first when Zorua used the attack it only blocked similar moves between the two Pokemon, which often made it useless – but it had somehow changed over the years we fought together to be able to restrict a Pokémon's movements entirely.

"Now Zorua, use Shadow Ball!" I called out.

Zorua opened its' little mouth wide, a spherical orb appearing in front of it and as it grew larger, Zorua jumped into the air and fired it at Lucario, who attempted defending itself, but was unable to due to the effect of Imprison.

The blast hit Lucario straight on, cancelling the Imprison effect and knocking it backwards. However, as the attack hadn't been all too effective due to the Steel-Fighting type of Lucario, it shrugged it off, still retaining damage however.

"Alright, our move then." Collins said. She thrust out her and smiled. "Use Aura Sphere!"

Lucario stanced itself, forming its own spherical orb between its steely paws, though instead of a blackish purple color like Shadow Ball, it was bright blue, fluctuating often with white. Lucario then thrust it's paws forward, the attack firing out at full speed to Zorua.

"Zorua, quickly, use Detect!" I called.

Just before the blast hit Zorua, it steeled itself, closing its' eyes and creating a yellow shield that absorbed the Aura Sphere, and shattered to pieces soon thereafter. We never could stand by an Aura Sphere. Zorua was always done in one hit if it was smacked by one.

I sighed one of relief, and chuckled. "Just in time. Good work Zorua."

"Lucario, use Quick Attack!" Collins took no time, calling her next attack, as Lucario disappeared from our sights and reappeared with a flashing afterimage rushing through the field. Lucario collided with Zorua, launching it into the sky and damaging it, following it skywards.

"Zorua, use Shadow Ball again!" I called quickly.

Zorua attempted to follow Lucario's speed, and began to charge a Shadow Ball while in midair.

"Lucario, counter using Aura Sphere!" Collins called forth.

Lucario charged its' own sphere just as fast Zorua did, and the two fired their blasts at the same time, the attacks colliding and creating a plume over smoke that covered the section of sky and the field. I quickly brushed it away as much as I could using my arms and saw both Zorua and Lucario fall from the plume located in the sky.

They landed on the ground and tumbled to their respective sides, both badly damaged from the throwback of the collision. Both Pokemon struggled to their feet as the smoke cleared and attempted to keep a steady view of the other.

"Why don't we finish this up, Moore?" Collins suggested.

"I agree, Mrs. Collins." I smiled, and she responded with her own.

Collins reached into her pocket, grabbing a glimmering stone and a locket with a slightly larger stone inside. She tossed the locket to her Lucario, who caught it weakly and slid it around its' neck.

"Call to the bonds beyond!" Collins recited. "Answer to my call, Mega Evolution!"

She held the glimmering stone up high, and the stone inside Lucario's locket reacted with each other, connecting shining paths of light together as Lucario began to shift.

I'd never seen this before, well, I'd seen it, but I'd never pushed Collins to the point of using her Mega Evolved Lucario during our battles. No student had. Only other professors and the headmaster.

Lucario became a bit taller, the chest fur extended down to cover its' tail as the paws changed into a dark red color, along with the tail ends of headpiece that came down along it's back.

Lucario posed into a stance, sending out a wave of power along with a deeper voiced cry into the air. It gave Zorua a glare and a smirk, and Zorua smirked back in reply, attempting to stay in on the battle.

"Mega Lucario!" Collins called out, giving a confident smile. "Use Close Combat!"

"Zorua, hold your ground!" I called, giving my own air of confidence.

Mega Lucario rushed at Zorua with incredible speed, approaching with its' glowing with an intense light. It leapt into the air to drop the attack into Zorua from above, and I smiled. It fell closer and closer to Zorua, and I called my next command.

"Use Foul Play!" I called at the last second.

Zorua dodged Lucario's attack with lightning quick speed, appearing next to where it's paw first crashed into the ground and latching onto the fur with its' fangs.

Zorua made an effort to throw Mega Lucario, using his own attack against him, tossing him far, sending him crashing into the ground and rolling to Collins. It stood up one more time, heaving heavily and reverting back to the regular state of Lucario.

Zorua sighed, content with itself, and both Pokemon collapsed on the ground, completely exhausted.

"DRAW!"

Collins and I both jumped at the sudden sound of a referees' voice. We looked around, seeing an entire horde of students gathered around us. We didn't even notice during our battle. We'd gone from a nearly empty battlefield, to have students and teachers loitered around us and on the balcony where we once stood above.

We returned our respective Pokemon, latching them to our waists as we walked to the center of the field. I shook hands with her as per routine, and we smiled.

"That was a fantastic battle Moore." Collins said. "I didn't think you'd push me to use Mega Lucario. You've really leveled up in your training since we last fought."

"Same to you Mrs. Collins." I replied. "Mega Lucario's strength is absolutely brilliant though. I'm surprised Zorua didn't collapse when that first roar of its' sent out an energy wave like it did."

"Dude!" Seth yelled, coming up to us both from the loitering crowd. "That was EPIC!"

Collins chuckled to herself and left the battlefield, letting Seth and I stand there.

"Hell yeah it was." I said smacking a high five with him.

"That last Foul Play attack was clutch, where'd you learn to do that?" Seth asked.

"Constant training." I said, even though it was a complete and utter lie. I'd simply remembered that Zorua had learned Foul Play in our last training session.

"Sure it was. You had to have raided the Rare Candy stock in the cafeteria or something." Seth assumed.

"Nope." I disconfirmed him. "It was totally training."

"Whatever it was Mr. Moore, it was absolutely brilliant." I heard a gruff, familiar voice. "Well done, well done indeed."

I looked where the voice came from behind the fleeting crowd, seeing Headmaster Redwood. He was a taller, buffer male with darkened brown, almost graying hair that slicked behind his head and also adorned his face as sideburns. He wore a black suit, and smiled.

"Thank you Headmaster." I said, bowing to him quickly as he returned it. Seth did as well, and Redwood bowed to him in response just the same.

"Time never waits. It delivers all equally to the same end." Redwood began.

"Go forth without falter, with your heart as your guide." I finished him, smiling. "You've drilled that phrase into every student's head since the first day here."

"In that case, might I ask what the phrase means to you both?" He then asked as I and Seth looked at each other.

We turned our backs to the Headmaster, throwing our arms over each other to keep a sort of silencing wall between us, even if it wasn't very strong. We chatted incoherently like best friends would, crossing our ideas to form a sentence.

"We believe the saying means that time never waits for a person because the inevitable end may one day arise," I started.

"But you use that fleeting time period to accomplish what you hold dear in life. Accomplish, and deliver it to your own end. Break that similarity between ends for you and the next person and make it your own." Seth finished.

Redwood closed his eyes, tossing his head to the left and right softly as he thought while humming a small tune.

"Great answer boys. I'll give you 92% grade." Redwood chuckled.

Seth and I looked to each other, and laughed as we scratched our heads.

"Kidding boys. I'm kidding. That was an answer truly worth 100%. As such, I'll give you two these." Redwood said, opening the suitcase he had with him and handing us two rolls of paper.

"Wait, are these?" Seth asked, but stopped midway through asking. I was silent.

"They are. These are your graduation diplomas. For an amazing battle between you, Joseph, and Mrs. Collins, along with the fantastic answer joint between you both," Redwood said. "I'm allowing you to jump over the official ceremony tonight and graduate right now."

"Thank you sir, so much!" Seth and I both said, bowing to him.

"No problem boys. However, Joseph, I have depressing news for you." Redwood said. "I can't let you leave the school grounds with Zorua."

"Sir, why not?!" I objected, and Seth stayed silent, almost in pity.

"Zorua belongs to the school ground and while Mrs. Collins may have called it your starter, I only allowed her to give it to you for the duration through until your final year." Redwood explained.

"Sir, I hate to curse to you, but I'm calling bullshit." I said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Well, how about this. We'll keep a handle on Zorua for the time being, and you go get even stronger as a trainer and a person." Redwood dealt. "Then I want you to return here, and you and I will battle. If I win, the Academy will keep Zorua. If you win, I will trade official ownership of Zorua from the Academy to you."

I looked at the Pokeball at my waist. "Very well. If that's the only way that I'll be able to train Zorua." I gritted my teeth, pulling back sadness as I took the ball in hand.

"Give it to the Nurse Joy in the school center." Redwood said. "I'll have her give it to me directly."

"Yes sir." I groaned.

I dragged myself to the campus Pokemon Center. Seth walked with me, and patted me on the back.

"Hey, think of the deal you made with the headmaster." Seth told me. "You'll get stronger, and return here. Hell, I'll come with you when you return."

"Yeah." I said, giving Zorua's ball to Nurse Joy, who informed me she was told not to return it. "This isn't goodbye Zorua. No way, no how. I'll see you again."

"That's the spirit my man." Seth said, patting me on the back.

"Hey, you two. Right there." A male voice said expectantly. "Are you two boys Joseph Moore and Seth Connors?"

We turned around to see an adult man who looked around the age of the Headmaster. He had completely gray hair and solidly silver eyes that almost seemed to shine like crystals. He had a wondrous smile on his face and wore a dark gray suit beneath a white lab-coat.

"My name is Professor Cedar. It's nice to meet you both." He said. "I work as the teacher for providing students lessons on Mega Evolution, and as the instructor that hands out starter Pokemon."

 **Well I hope y'all enjoyed. Sorry the first note seemed kinda...well, prophetic. I thought it felt right. Anyways, this is a new story. Not bound by any script similar to how my Fates and Awakening stories were going to be. This will be a ton easier for me to write, as it's also where I began writing.**


	2. Chapter 2: New Partners

**And a week later, Chapter 2 is done. I cannot promise chapters will be weekly, but as soon as they're done and reviewed by myself for any errors, I'll update the story here. Anyways, "Chapter 2: New Partners" is here for you to read and enjoy.**

 **Chapter 2: New Partners**

"Professor Cedar, huh?" Seth started.

"That's correct." Cedar replied. "Headmaster Redwood told me to meet you two at the Pokemon Center. I'm to lead you to the campus laboratory so you can pick your starter Pokemon."

"Gotcha." I said, still recovering from my disconnection with Zorua.

"Someone's eager." Cedar teased, flashing his silver eyes my way. "Teasing. Redwood told me you might be a little saddened when I met up with you two. You just had to part ways with that Zorua right?"

"Yeah I did." I said.

"Well, cheer up. Getting a new starter is your next chance to move on." Cedar said.

"He's right you know." Seth said, speaking up. "You gotta re-adjust without Zorua attached at your hip. So let's go get our starters."

"Yeah, you're right." I said.

 _I gotta knock myself out of this funk, so that I can face Zorua again when I return here!_

Cedar had us follow him to his lab, and as he keyed open the door and opened it inwards, we saw his lab was pretty formal. He was the only person working there, but he explained that he had the occasional science club student group come in and help him clean up and feed the starter Pokemon.

"We've got a plethora of starter-quality Pokemon, 'ripe for the picking', so they say." Cedar said as he led us to a table with multiple Pokeballs placed into indents.

"Let's see, what are these choices…" Cedar said, looking at a schedule that was laid on his desk. "Oh right, these Pokemon are the champion wave."

"Champion Wave?" Seth asked before I could.

"Headmaster Redwood specially requested that the six champions of the Pokemon World send Pokemon Eggs of their own leader team member." Cedar explained. "We have Growlithe, from Kanto Champion Blue, Dratini from Johto Champion Lance, Beldum from Hoenn Champion Steven, Gible from Sinnoh Champion Cynthia, Larvesta from Unova Champion Alder, and Ralts from Kalos Champion Diantha."

"Wow, a selection of six starters." I said, rather impressed. "Don't most professors normally gift three?"

"Well, I'm not 'most professors'." Cedar chuckled. "Plus with a growing number of graduates, we have to double, sometimes triple the number of starters given out in session."

"So, when do we get to pick?" Seth asked excitedly, acting like a 10-year-old.

"Someone's hyped." Cedar said. "So just to spite you Connors, I'll let Moore pick first."

Seth groaned and then patted me up on the back. I was thrust forwards to the table by him, and I sighed. I hadn't much time to think. I stared at the six balls, deciding carefully.

"I've chosen." I said after a minute or so.

I threw my hand forward, latching onto the desired ball, and tossing it towards the open ceiling of the lab. The ball opened, the red laser flying and forming a whitened shape that turned a light blue color, forming a rough, jagged body with a single red eye peering forward.

"Beldum." Cedar said. "Very nice choice. Weak starting off, but Metagross is a fan favorite."

Beldum hovered down to me, staring at me, almost seeming to analyze me. I stared forward, a straight look adorning me. Beldum seemed to blink its single eye, and then the eye closed in a happy fashion, giving me a smile. I smiled back and it kept hovered in the area next to me.

"Alright Seth, your turn." I told him as I gently rubbed Beldum's cold, rugged headpiece.

I stepped back and Seth stepped forward without a word, not even taking a moment to choose as he grabbed a ball himself, tossing it towards the ground. The opening started the same like mine before the shape took on a shark-like shape, growing a large bend to its head and turning a darker blue than Beldum, but with stripes of lighter blue stretched on it, with a large, red stomach.

"Gible, good choice Connors." Cedar smiled. "Little feisty, always hungry, and that one's a bit sassy."

Seth bent down to his Gible, the two giving a stare down to each other. Seth then reached his hand out, and shook Gible's paw. Gible shook as well, the two smiling.

"Holy damn." Cedar said. "Gible always bit my hand whenever I tried to shake its paw."

"I guess that means he and I share a good bond already." Seth chuckled, lifting Gible up in his arms and smiling confidently.

"In that case, Seth, do you want a fight? You seemed to admire my skill with Zorua, so why not we test one with our licensed starters?" I asked him.

"You're on!" Seth said. "Let's get back to the field where you fought Mrs. Collins!"

We quickly rushed out without even saying goodbye to Cedar, and raced to the battlefield.

Cedar was left in his lab, and he sighed. "YOU'RE WELCOME BOYS!" He screamed out at the top of his lungs.

He walked back into his lab, and saw beneath papers on his desk, seeing two devices he had laid out.

"Fuck. I forgot to give them to those brats." Cedar sighed. "Screw it, they seemed pretty hype about their battle. I'll just make my way to them and give it to them after their fight."

Cedar put the two devices into his pockets, and pulled a pack of cigarettes out and a lighter, igniting a cigarette and putting it to his mouth.

Seth and I reached the battlefield at the same time, standing on opposite ends and preparing to fight. We looked at our partners, Beldum, who'd kept up beside us the entire time via its levitation, and Gible, who'd been carried in Seth's grasp, but finally released on the field.

"Alright, Beldum, go!" I smiled, as Beldum rushed from my side to the field.

"You too Gible, it's time to fight!" Seth cheered.

Both Pokemon stared the other down with a determined look. Seth and I did the exact same, and then he grinned and I followed.

"Beldum, use Zen Headbutt!" I called out.

"Gible, rush at 'em and use Mud Shot!" Seth returned.

Beldum rushed at Gible, vanishing from sight and reappearing with a flashy pink and white aura compassing its body as it rammed into Gible full force before it could accomplish even charging the Mud Shot attack.

"Whoa, how's he so fast?" Seth said. "The Beldum evolutionary family isn't supposed to be that naturally fast from the get-go!"

"Wait, do you think he has-…awesome!" I realized.

This Beldum wasn't exactly a normal one, it possessed the hidden ability of its species, Light Metal, which halves its weight and doubles its speed capabilities.

"In that case, Gible, use Iron Head!" Seth returned, realizing the same.

Beldum returned to my side before Gible began to rush it, the headpiece of its species beginning to shine with a silver metallic light.

"Beldum, use Iron Defense!" I said.

Beldum braced itself, its body turning as shiny as steel and creating a shield that boosted its defensive capabilities just as Gible rammed into it head on.

"That won't help you! Dragon Rage next!" Seth called out.

Gible used the close range distance to create what seemed almost like a bomb of energy in its stomach, and launch it on Beldum, who was blown away.

"Dammit, good maneuver, but that won't beat us!" I called him out. "Zen Headbutt again!"

Beldum rushed down Gible before it could return to Seth, and beat into him with the same move as earlier, knocking him into the air.

"And that's not going to take us out, but you got me right where I needed to be!" Seth smirked. "Use Body Slam!"

Gible's body glowed white, and it fell with amazing speed from where Beldum knocked it upwards, aiming right for Beldum.

"Counter it with Zen Headbutt!" I retorted.

Beldum rushed at the falling Gible with Zen Headbutt, as Gible fell with Body Slam. The two made head-on contact, creating a fierce blow to double both backwards, falling to the ground and sliding back to the field sides.

Beldum and Gible returned to their battle position, before Gible lurched, falling to its knees and fainting. Seth chuckled, and sighed.

"Good work Gible, return for now. You could use a rest." Seth said, as he brought out Gible's ball and called it back using the bright red laser.

"You did awesome Beldum." I said, walking to my new partner. "You deserve a rest, partner."

I brought out Beldum's ball and called it in, the metallic shape dissolving into a red light as the laser returned it.

I walked over to Seth after that, and shook hands with him. We congratulated each other on doing the best, and began to review as if we were still in classes.

"Where did I go wrong?" Seth asked. "Was it the last move-shit! Normal-type attacks are at all effective against Steel-types like Beldum!"

"I was wondering why you used Take Down. I thought you remembered, but oh well." I said, giving a sly smile.

Seth groaned then, "Bastard, you coulda told me!"

"Nah, I was in the heat of winning." I joked smugly. "Kidding. The battle was pretty heated, considering we both just got our Pokemon."

"Oh definitely. Beldum and Gible are strong. I have a feeling that we'll cause some serious terrain damage if we fight with them when they've fully evolved." Seth agreed.

"Well, that's the fight, we should get to the center and get our partners healed up." I said, looking at Beldum's ball. "Especially Gible, he looked pretty damn tired."

"Yeah, you whupped us pretty bad." Seth said. "Let's get going."

We began to walk away from the battlefield when Cedar walked up from the path we came. He sighed, taking his cigarette and dropping, stomping it beneath his shoe, and then dropping it in a nearby trash can.

"Alright, dimwits." Cedar said. "I neglected to give you these before you rushed out the door like bullets."

Cedar handed us two devices that were significantly red in color, with some deviation of black on the top screen sectional for me, and white in the same area for Seth.

"These two, among many others, are the prized product of the collaboration of the six famed Professors of each region." Cedar explained.

"You're talking Professors Oak, Elm, Birch, Rowan, Juniper, and Sycamore right?" I asked.

"That's correct. These are the so called "ultimate" National Pokedexes." Cedar said. "Containing the data registration ability of all 721 Pokemon, with the ability to scan and register new species upon command."

"That's pretty awesome." Seth said. "I've heard of the National Pokedex, but that second feature sounds amazing."

"Basically, if you find a new species, use the scanning feature to document it and send it to the Professors." Cedar said, showing us how to access scanning.

"Gotcha boss." I chuckled.

Seth and I continued to the Center after that, and healed up our partners, deciding to sit down and have one last lunch together before setting off. We went to the nearby campus restaurant, a place specializing in food for both students and Pokemon.

We sat down and ordered our food via the monitor at our table, and began talking as we waited.

"So Joe." Seth started. "Have you thought about what region you're going to first?"

"No, not yet." I replied.

"Well you gotta decide fast." He said. "We live on a manmade island, going to a private academy that has a boat-line access to each region."

"That's true. Maybe I'll go to Hoenn." I said. "I know my way to Littleroot Town from Slateport City, so I could go see Birch and maybe get an extra lesson or two before really setting off."

"Ol' birth region huh?" Seth chuckled. "In that case I might just give Johto a good ol' visitation. It's next door to Kanto so I won't have to pay anything like a boat fee to travel back and forth. I can just take the metric train between Goldenrod and Saffron."

"In that case, I guess this our last meal together as roommates." I said. "And our first as rivals."

"You're damn right." Seth replied. "Next time we fight, Gible and I will be way stronger. Enough to run your Beldum to the ground."

I laughed, and replied "Beldum and I will prepare ourselves for then."

"You better!" Seth said.

Our food then arrived and we ate, sharing laughs and jokes and letting Gible and Beldum out to eat and pal around for a bit.

After we all finished, Seth smiled at me once more. "Also, how about when we participate in the Pokemon League Tournaments, the other comes and visits to help train?"

"Sound good. Nothing better than testing strategies against each other with Pokemon you'd normally not see in a region." I agreed as we shook hands on it.

We returned our partners to their Pokeballs and set out from the restaurant, smiling and giving one last high five, before we paid for different boat tickets.

Seth would be heading for Olivine City in the Johto Region, and I'd be heading off to Slateport in Hoenn. I boarded my boat with Beldum levitating at my side, allowing it to feel the ocean breeze against its strong metallic coat as it set off.

 _Within a day and a half, I'll be at Slateport. Thanks to the academy, to Zorua and to Beldum, my adventure is starting._

 **And that's the end of the chapter. I hope you enjoyed. Next chapter we start off the journey for real. We've had two great battles, and now we'll get to travel. I hope you'll enjoy following Joseph Moore's journey.**


	3. Chapter 3: Arrival

**Well, here we are again. Pokemon: Tale of Championship! Chapter 3: Arrival, is now here. And if you're wondering why it's a week late, I'll explain at the end. No hate for the reason though - it's a decently good one.**

 **Chapter 3: Arrival**

It was the same night as when I left the academy, and it was just ocean water for miles as far as I knew. I couldn't sleep much, so I went out to the deck, leaving Beldum in my room on the boat, as he was fast asleep in his ball. I stood against the railing of the boat, feeling the night breeze hit my face as I sighed.

"Excitement or Nervousness?" a voice called from behind me, making me jump a little bit.

"Huh?" I asked, turning around.

Standing before me was a girl dressed in a light pink shirt with dark blue jeans. She wore a pair of sneakers as she walked up to stand beside over the railing. She had auburn colored hair with the tips dyed black.

"Which is keeping you up?" She then asked.

"Oh, neither." I said. "What's your name?"

"Airi Valentine." She replied, smiling. "You're Joseph Moore, aren'tcha?"

"Uh, yeah. How'd you know my name?" I asked.

"I saw your battle this morning against Mrs. Collins." Airi smiled.

"Oh, that makes sense." I said. "I assume that since you're on this boat, you're a graduate as well?"

"Yep. I decided to go Hoenn cause Kanto is a little too…overdone for me." Airi chuckled. "It seems like _everyone_ starts with the Kanto region."

"You trying to say something?" I chuckled.

Airi chuckled a bit, and then gave a "No."

She and I then shared a laugh, and I sighed.

"So you're going to Hoenn as a non-native." I said.

"Yep, never been outside of Kanto before my time at the academy." She replied.

"I know my way pretty well, enough to get to Littleroot Town from where this boat docks – Slateport City." I said.

"Then do you mind if I tag with you? I'll be about as effective as a blind Bidoof if I wander around a place I know nothing about." Airi asked.

"I don't mind, I can play tour guide for the western half of the region, but the eastern side, Fortree City onwards, I'm unfamiliar myself." I explained.

"Well, if you can secure us a good few towns and cities with league certified gyms in them," She said. "Then you'll be making time together worthwhile."

"Definitely, there's five gyms out of the eight on the western half." I explained. "Rustboro, Dewford, Mauville, Lavaridge, and Petalburg."

"I read about 'em. Roxanne is the gym leader of Rustboro right?" Airi asked.

"Yep, as far as I know she's a student at the Rustboro High School, straight-A student and class president." I said. "She's able to balance schoolwork, training her Pokemon, and running a gym while keeping a social life and a sleep schedule."

"That's…pretty amazing." Airi said, amazed.

"Definitely. She's the pride and joy of Rustboro." I smiled.

"Well, I can't expect you to know the first five leaders like the back of your hand, so I'll stop asking." Airi smiled. "But the breeze is nice out here."

"Which is why I came out. Didn't expect to meet you though." I said.

"Is that supposed to be flirting? Cause holy hell you suck." Airi said.

"Wasn't supposed to be flirting. Did you see me jump when you first spoke to me? I had to have gone at least five feet in the air." I said, my eyes squinted in response to the accusation.

"Alright, that's fair. My bad." Airi giggled. "Oh hey, who'd you pick as your starter Pokemon?"

"I got a special starter pick. There was six of em. I chose Beldum, donated by the Hoenn Champion himself." I said.

"Fancy, I got the one donated by the Unova Champion." Airi said. "Larvesta. A lil' girl with a feisty spirit, according to Cedar."

"Cool. I'd ask for a battle, but I left Beldum asleep in my room." I said. "Plus it's the middle of the night."

"Alright, I'm always going to carry Larvesta on me." Airi said. "You never know when a challenger might appear for a battle."

"In that case how about we go to the field when day breaks? Even when it does, we won't hit Slateport for another half a day at least." I said.

"I accept. Anyways, I've had a good chat. I'm going to go read until I fall asleep." Airi said, stretching as she fished her pocket for her key.

"Have fun with that." I chuckled.

"I will, thanks." Airi responded with a giggle.

She walked off to the dormitory section of the boat, and I looked back to the ocean to enjoy the misty air that enveloped the boat for around another half an hour.

I went to bed after that, looking at Beldum's ball on my dresser one last time, and then covering up in my bed. I pulled out a music player that I brought with me from the academy, a gift from Seth on my last birthday, and plugged in headphones with a song to block out the boat horn.

The next morning, I woke up to a knock on my door. I turned to wake up, and pulled the headphones from my ears, walking to the door, seeing Airi.

"Oh, morning Airi." I said, rubbing my half-open eyes until I was awake, giving a slight yawn.

"Morning sleepy." She chuckled. "Ready for our battle?"

"Battle?" I asked, not even questioning how she got my room number. "Oh, right, we agreed to a battle."

"Wow, I guess you have short-term memory or something." Airi said, playfully flicking my forehead.

"It's like what, 7 in the morning? Don't blame me." I said.

"It's 10 AM dude." She laughed. "Anyway, come on, let's get some coffee or something at the dining hall, and then have a battle."

"Alright, give me a moment to grab Beldum." I said.

I walked away from the door and grabbed Beldum's Pokeball from my drawer, and latched it to my hip, and saw that she already had her – or what I at least assumed to be – Larvesta's Pokeball attached to her hip.

"You ready now?" She then asked.

"Yeah, let's go." I yawned, still exhausted.

She and I walked to the dining hall section of the ship, located in the main hall, so it'd be easy for the graduates heading to Hoenn to find. Airi and I ordered off of the breakfast menus, and talking while the food was being prepped.

"We don't really have much to talk about, do we?" Airi said, looking down to her plate as our food arrived.

"Now that we mention it, we've only been making small talk." I retorted, seeing as a plate of bacon and eggs slid beneath my nose from a waiter's silver tray.

"So, how about we share a few facts." Airi suggested. "Hmm, birthplace first. Where were you born?"

I took a small bite from a strip of bacon, chewing and swallowing, then replying with "Mossdeep City in Hoenn, but I moved away before I was five. We went to Petalburg then."

"Oh cool, I was born in Celadon City, Kanto. Lived there all my life until my parents signed me up for the academy." Airi replied, cutting a bit out of her french toast breakfast and eating it.

"Sweet, hmm, what next?" I asked her.

"Hobbies? Wait, those won't really matter much – since we're both just training Pokemon." She muttered slightly.

"I cook." I said. "I'm still an amateur though."

"Wait, really?" She said. "You really cook?"

"Yeah, don't act like it's a big deal." I said, chuckling. "Like I said, I'm just an amateur. But I know how to tell certain berries from others and know what's edible and what's not."

"That's a pretty big deal. If I end up sticking with you long-term for an adventure, you could prep meals for two, right?" Airi asked.

"I've done it for a family of five before." I chuckled, referring to my own family.

"Family of five? Oh, that was my next question, I'm guessing you have siblings?" Airi asked.

"Yep, two younger siblings. A twin brother and sister. Nathan and Kat." I said. "My mom and dad as well."

"So you're the oldest? Cool. I'm the youngest in my family." Airi said. "I've two older sisters and a dad. My mom…she left us."

"I'm sorry." I said, the conversation turning grim.

"Oh, I didn't mean like she died. She kinda...well she was a gold digger. My dad found out she was cheating on him after she gave birth to my sisters and I. Filed a divorce and all." Airi explained.

"Damn, sorry that you had to grow up without a mom." I said.

"Nah, I don't let it bother me. My oldest sister Celeste was mother enough." Airi said. "Pretty much when my dad was on trip, she ruled the house with an iron, albeit kind, fist."

"I cannot tell if that's good or bad honestly." I chuckled, and Airi stifled a laugh.

We continued to talk until we were both done with our breakfasts, both of which didn't last all too long since the buffet hall was run by several revered chefs. We cleaned up after eating, and met back up outside the hall.

"So you ready for a battle?" Airi asked, grabbing her Larvesta's ball.

"Definitely, let's go to the designated field in the open space." I said, grabbing Beldum's ball from my waist.

We were pretty enthusiastic about fighting each other, and before we knew it, our walking to the field had turned into running. Racing, almost. We were like children, running from wall to wall in a race for the last jawbreaker or something.

We made it to the battlefield and stood on opposite ends. We prepared ourselves and tossed the Pokeballs towards each other.

"Beldum!"

"Larvesta!"

We called our Pokemon's names at the same time, and the two Pokemon faced each other dead ahead. Larvesta appeared in the shape of a large bug with torch-like feelers peeling out of the glistening white fur that coated its upper body, it stared determinately forward with piercing blue eyes.

"You can go first Airi." I said.

"Why should I? Larvesta has a huge advantage over Beldum. Bug is super effective to Psychic, and Fire to Steel." Airi said. "If I play my card right, a single Flame Wheel could knock you out. So you go first Joseph."

"Fair point." I chuckled. "Alright, then I'll take the first move."

I reviewed my options, Beldum knew very little moves, mostly for attacking, and very little for defending. I had to play really careful, and rely on Beldum's increased speed thanks to Light Metal, but dodging will tire Beldum out if it does it too much.

"Alright, Beldum, let's charge in with a Zen Headbutt!" I called.

Beldum rushed headfirst at Larvesta, smashing into the idle Pokemon and knocking into a roll. I was surprised Airi didn't set up for a counter attack, and she just smiled.

"Alright Larvesta, use Flame Charge!" Airi called.

I quickly called for Beldum to retreat as Larvesta regained itself and began crawling towards Beldum, searing flames beginning to coat it's white and brown body. It began to increase in speed the more the flames around it grew and before I could even react – it rammed right into Beldum.

Beldum flew backwards, falling to the ground with some serious marks on it. It was a super effective attack, I couldn't be blamed for being surprised that Beldum was still prepared to battle – or at least finish the fight, no matter the outcome.

"You sure you okay Beldum?" I asked my starter, looking at him with concern.

Beldum turned back as he levitated in place, his marked body and his singular eye shifted in an up and down manner, as if saying "yes".

"Alright, I'll trust you partner." I smiled, patting the small Pokemon around its head, feeling the leftover heat from Larvesta's attack. "Alright, use Iron Head!"

Beldum's body glowed a shiny silver color as it rushed Larvesta, using its remaining agility to speed over to Larvesta, it's body picking up wind as it sped.

"Larvesta, use Flame Charge again!" Airi called out.

Larvesta matched Beldum's speed as the Iron Head attack clashed with the quickly sparked Flame Charge attack. The attack collided, but didn't have much of a flashy effect, in the end, Beldum was knocked back with extreme power and knocked out. Larvesta remained injured, but still active for battle.

"And the victory goes to me!" Airi called joyously.

"Good battle Beldum – you did your best." I said, recalling Beldum to its ball, before walking over to Airi and congratulating her.

"You pretty much had me bested." I said.

"I used two attacks and the battle was over." Airi said. "I think the fact that I had a serious type advantage on you was what determined the battle."

"Yeah, your Larvesta is pretty powerful." I said, bending down to look at the injured, yet happy Pokemon. "We should probably get both our Pokemon to the on-board center though. Only a few more hours until we hit Slateport. I don't you'll want to arrive with a Pokemon that's nearly fainted."

"And I don't think you'll want to arrive with a Pokemon that's completely fainted." Airi joked, with a hint of sass.

"Right." I chuckled in response.

I lost the battle – and even though it was no more than a few minutes, compared to my battles with Ms. Collins, and my battle against Seth, it was still really exhilarating – and I had fun. I went with Airi to the on board Pokemon Center, letting our Pokemon go off to heal.

When they came back, I looked at Beldum's ball, smiling. "Maybe winning isn't everything." I chuckled, saying it beneath my breath.

"What was that?" Airi asked, hearing me whisper.

"Oh, nothing." I said. "Just talking to myself. You should be getting used to that if I'm going to be your Hoenn tour guide."

"Gotcha." Airi smiled, flashing me a peace sign with a smile.

We walked back out to the main bridge, and I could see a port city off in the distance. Airi saw it too, and began to smile widely. Almost ear-to-ear.

"That's Slateport City right? We're nearly there, right?" She asked, like an excited little girl.

"If you can see the city with your eyes, yeah." I said. "That's Slateport City – our first stop in Hoenn."

 **My excuse - Pokemon Go.**


	4. Chapter 4: A New Beginning

**Thanks everyone for continuing to read up to this point – and hopefully you'll continue reading in the future. We're starting a journey through Hoenn – but as this will be a longer story – there will be jumps between where one chapter ends and one begins. More at the end of the chapter.**

 **Chapter 4: A New Beginning**

The boat pulled into the closed-space pier of the Slateport City – and Airi and I stepped foot onto the solid tile, wavering a bit as an attendant approached us. He was dressed in a blue and white employees outfit, and had a slight smile on his face.

"A little woozy?" He asked.

"Yeah, we are." Airi chuckled, latching onto my shoulder slightly to keep a solid footing.

I kept my own feet as solid as I could, sighing with a slight laugh.

"Don't worry about it guys, according to the chart you were just on a boat for almost an entire day." He smiled. "You'll get back to your normal balance quickly."

"Gotcha." I said. "Thanks."

We walked, albeit slowly, to the wall and leaned against the cool wall of the building. After a few minutes of just standing there and talking more of what we focused our learning to back at the academy, we were finally steady once more.

"Alright, now that we've got steady feet, how about we head to the Oceanic Museum?" I suggested.

"Why there? Shouldn't we start heading for Littleroot Town to meet with Professor Birch?" Airi asked.

"Is there any actual reason to go see him?" I asked. "Or rather, to meet with him? We already have starter Pokemon, we have a Pokedex, and we have enough to start our travelling."

"That's fair. But wouldn't it be nice to at least meet with him?" Airi asked.

"That's true. Alright, I guess we could stop there. The route we're taking pulls us through Oldale Town, and Littleroot is just south from there." I said. "I just want to go to the Oceanic Museum so we can explore a little bit more."

"You sure you don't want to spend more time with me?" Airi asked. "Kidding."

"We're going to be spending a lot of time together anyway, I'm playing your tour guide." I chuckled.

"Oh, right, hehe." Airi said. "In that case I'll follow your lead, Mr. Tour Guide."

We walked out of the port building, and looked to a map that was beside the building entrance. After memorizing a path through the city, Airi and I walked to the Oceanic Museum. We arrived at the wide building, seemingly sustained like a convention hall, decorated with different variants of blue.

"Wow…this place…it sure knows how to use the color blue." Airi said, chuckling as we stood outside.

"Well it's based off of the ocean. And with how well-kept they are – the oceans surrounding the Hoenn region are as blue as blue can be." I said.

"Well then, that's interesting. Anywho, you wanted to show me the inside of this place, so let's go." Airi smiled.

We walked into the building together, and a female attendant met us at the door. She had dark brown hair and wore a smile on her face with her outfit kept clean and official.

"Welcome to the Oceanic Museum. Today is a special day, so entry is free." She smiled.

"What's the occasion?" I asked.

"Today's the day that the museum founder, Captain David W. Stern." She smiled. "He also recently found a Pokemon Egg abandoned at the bottom of the Sootopolis Ocean, and brought it back on the submarine they use, and donated it to the Museum to utilize as a raffle prize on this special day!"

"A Pokemon Egg raffle?" Airi asked. "That's cool. How do we enter?"

"Well, entry is normally free on the anniversary of the museum, but if you pay the normal entrance fee, you'll be entered into the raffle and given a ticket." She explained.

"That's simple. How much for the two tickets?" I asked her.

"Just 50¥ a ticket." She said. "So 100¥."

"Oh that's pretty cheap. Alright." Airi said.

She brought out her wallet and brought out two coins with 50¥ marked on them, handing them to the woman. The woman smiled and walked to the nearby counter, depositing the coin into a machine that dispensed two tickets. She then walked back and handed them to Airi.

Airi proceeded to face me and shove a ticket into my hand, saying "So we both have a chance to win."

"Right, thanks." I chuckled.

I pocketed the ticket, and Airi did the same. We walked through the exhibits, even joining a live screening of another expedition into the ocean on the flat screen television upstairs on the top floor of the Oceanic Museum.

After about a half-hour of enjoying ourselves exploring the museum, the intercom turned on as we heard the familiar voice of the female attendant who greeted us at the door.

"To all the people who chose to enter the special raffle, please come to the back entrance." The intercom brought out. "The top winner of the raffle will soon be decided."

"I guess that's our call." I said.

"Yep, let's go!" Airi said, getting up from her seat.

I got up from my seat as well, taking a quick moment to stretch as we then went back downstairs and were lead to the back entrance, where eight or nine other people had been waiting.

"Looks like not a lot of people entered the competition." I said, chuckling a small bit beneath my breath.

"Well, Slateport is kinda small isn't it?" Airi asked.

"Actually its population is the only thing that's small. It's a large port city – just mainly taken up by markets." I said.

"Well, you just answered your own question buddy." Airi chuckled. "Population is small, so raffle entrants also are small."

We took our seats and the attendant woman along with an older man with graying hair walked into the room, followed by a male attendant pushing a cart with the sole prize – the Pokemon Egg. The three walked on stage and one of the attendant went into an employee-only back room, and brought out a number generating machine.

"Thank you all for attending the raffle competition." The older man said. "My name is Captain David Stern."

The man went and explained how he was the Captain of the ship "S.S Tidal", and told us the story behind him first finding the egg deep below the sea level, describing its peculiar color, using the actual thing as a model for it, noting its light brown bodily color with darker spots and grayish-blue splotches.

"Sir, I believe we should get onto the raffle announcement." The female attendant said, tapping Stern on his shoulder.

"Oh, very well." Stern said, laughing with a sigh, finally realizing he had rambled a bit. "Alright folks, the generator here is programmed with the numbers dispensed on the tickets handed out. Once I flip the switch here it will generate one of the number combinations and that participant will receive the egg prize."

Stern proceeded to flip the switch as numbers began to run across the screen rapidly.

"So what's your number?" Airi whispered to me.

"I'm 05435." I replied to her. "You?"

"11037." She whispered back. "Good luck."

"Same to you." I said to her as the numbers began to stop on the screen.

The first number came out to be a 1, which gave me no chance – and apparently a few others as well, since Airi and I heard a few audible groans. The second number was also 1, and I looked at Airi's ticket again. So far she was matching up.

The third number was 0, another one of Airi's numbers and a number that incited a few groans from the other participants, but not enough to declare Airi that last one. The fourth number a 3.

"You just need one more number and you have it." I said to her.

She smiled at me, biting her lip in anticipation. She didn't seem to originally be into the competition at first – I guess she expected to lose since it was just chance of numbers. But now she was really excited. The last number stopped – a 7.

"The number is 1-1-0-3-7." The female attendant read off the screen. "Who has the ticket number 11037?"

"That's me!" Airi said, jumping from her seat, seemingly with stars in her eyes.

Airi got up from where she sat and went up to the stage, greeted by Stern and the two attendants. The male attendant grabbed the egg from the cart and handed it to her, as she smiled almost too widely.

"The egg has been kept in incubation for about four weeks now. It should be ready to hatch anytime soon." He explained to her. "So if you're on a journey and keep it with you – it should be ready to hatch in no time."

"Alright, thank you." Airi said respectfully as she walked off the stage.

She and I exited first, followed by the small crowd of people. We took a seat near the entrance of the building and relaxed.

"So what was that all about?" I asked her.

"What was-oh you mean me getting really excited?" Airi asked. "I never really won a competition, my sisters were always top of their game when challenged to battles, but I never won anything really."

"Well, you've won a battle and a raffle competition since we met, so if that's good luck, I don't know what is." I chuckled.

"Are you trying to say you're my good luck charm?" Airi said.

"Nah that's not it." I laughed. "Seriously though, congratulations."

"Thanks." Airi smiled, laughing.

We exited the museum after a few minutes of relaxing, and stopped by the Pokemon Center for a meal before we'd set off for the route leading to Oldale Town. We ate and let our Pokemon eat as well, energizing for the road ahead.

We left the Pokemon Center after we had finished, and Airi held the egg in her arms tightly as we exited through the northern gate. We continued walking until the sun began to go down.

"Wait – according to the map we saw programmed into our table at the Pokemon Center – this route leads to Mauville City – not backwards to Oldale." Airi said. "In fact we're going the completely wrong direction."

"Well, there's a boating service on a little lake if you head west rather than east." I explained. "For a price – they'll take you to the other side of the lake – which puts the rider on Route 103. Oldale Town – and Littleroot Town – are both south of Route 103."

"Oh, okay. Why did you say we were going to do that before?" Airi asked.

"To be honest – I don't really know why I didn't explain at the center." I said, giving a sheepish grin.

We entered Route 110, and by the time we made it about halfway up the route, night had fallen completely and it was dark.

"Man, it got dark pretty damn quick." Airi said, sighing as we stopped at a tree.

"It does that in Hoenn, you'd better get used to it." I said. "We'll have to stop here for now."

"In the middle of the route?" Airi asked.

"Don't you remember that one week long assignment back at the academy. Two students per grouping with one Pokemon each – we had to go into the dense forest behind the school and study living in the wild and off the wild for seven days' time." I said.

"Oh right, I remember now." Airi said. "I didn't do that absolute best on it though."

"Seth and I did pretty well." I chuckled. "Redwood had even taken the time to comment saying it was like we were born and raised to be wild."

"So what was it really, if not that?" Airi said.

"I guess we just adapted." I said. "After the assignment, Mrs. Collins told me something pretty important."

"What was it?" Airi asked, now curious.

"It's not the strong or the smart who survive." I repeated Collins words. "It's those can adapt."

"Deep. I understand it though." Airi said.

"Well, let's really see if you do – we're going to spend the night here. Come morning, we'll continue to the boat service." I said.

We both took seats at the roots of the tree, and relaxed. I closed my eyes, and Airi closed hers as well as we sat in silence until we both fell asleep. Airi cuddled the egg in her arms, eventually falling over and wrapping herself around it completely like a snake.

Night continued to fall until it was completely pitch black – without the use of the flashlight – no one would be able to see even just two feet in front of them.

-Elsewhere On Route 110-

"So this is New Mauville right?" said an unnoticeable figure dressed in pure black holding a flashlight.

"Yep, the original plans for moving Mauville City beneath the ocean and run it completely off of rechargeable energy." Another figure replied.

"Well, let's get to work. All we have to do is unplug the generator and get our Pokemon to return it to base right?" The figure holding the flashlight asked.

"Yeah. This is only one of the generators we'll need. We're going to need plenty more to even just make a test power up for the bosses." The second figured confirmed.

"Let's get this done then." The figure with the flashlight said, clicking it off. "Magnezone!"

"Bronzong!"

"Use Flash, both of you!" The first of the figures said.

The two Pokemon radiated light, and they descended downwards from the entrance using the light that measured up. They came to a small lobby-like area, decorated with thick power cables running past a fingerprint detector.

"We aren't going to get by this easily, but maybe…" One of the figures said, as they brought out an axe from a sheathe attached to their back.

They made a downward slice at the nearest power cable, and the axe blade didn't even make a dent into it.

"Dammit, it's thicker than I thought." They sighed, sheathing the axe.

"Well, it's a power cable leading to an underground city. It's bound to be filled with an iron coating to help conduct." The first person said. "However, hacking should work."

The first guy brought a laptop out from a black suitcase and used an extension cord to attach the charging port of the laptop to the port wired to the fingerprint detector. After a few solid minutes of typing, the fingerprint detector powered off, and the gate opened.

"Whoever designed this gate obviously wasn't very intelligent." They sighed. "That was probably the second easiest hack I've done in my life."

The people and their Pokemon descended farther into the underground city, the Magnezone and Bronzong both continuing to radiate light until they reached an area where a magnetic flux of energy turned everything online.

"The lights are on." One figure said. "Which means we either tripped something, or something's in here with us."

"I want to believe the former of those, but it doesn't matter. We're on a time crunch now. We need to get the generator unplugged and out of here. Fast." The other said.

The two recalled their Pokemon and ran alongside the electronic map device they had brought with to determine the layout of New Mauville. The got to the generator room in little time, but heard a powerful growl come from within.

"We're getting high electricity readings from this room. Not even the generator should be able to produce readings this enormous." The first figure said.

"So wait – then what is it?" The second said.

"Well, it's either we abandon the mission and are punished for treason on demand of the bosses." The first said. "Or we go in, deal with the source, get the generator and get out."

"Y'know, I'd like to keep my head on my shoulders, so let's go and deal with the source." The second said.

The first person brought out the laptop again, and hacked the breach opening the entrance to the generator room. A huge surge of thunder instantly shot out from the inside, creating a huge burn mark on the floor leading all the way out of the room.

"Dammit, it knows we're here." The second person said. "Though if it's able to use such a surge of electricity – enough to create a burn mark. It's probably an electric type."

"In that case, preparing ground type Pokemon." The first said.

The two brought out Pokeballs, and tossed them into the air.

"Garchomp!" The first person said.

"Krookodile!" The second person called.

The two Pokemon appeared, as a second blast of pure thunder ran past and hit Garchomp and Krookodile directly. The two Pokemon remained unaffected, and shook off the blast quite easily. The two trainers walked into the room, seeing the cause of the thunder.

A blue and purple slender body with armor like plating at its chest with claws enveloped in a thick white cloud. A tail with black, electricity producing orbs along it swished in a fast motion.

"Of course it has to be damn Thundurus." The first person said.

"That's it's so called Therian Forme too, which means it'll probably be faster, and it'll absorb any Electric attacks more than ever." The second person said.

"Well, if we want the generator, we need to take it out." The first person concluded.

"What do you mean? If we can capture Thundurus, it'll output enough electricity to power five generators worth." The second smiled, pulling an empty Ultra Ball from a pocket in their clothing.

"In that case, let's go all out!" The first said. "Garchomp, Stone Edge!"

"Krookodile! Use Thrash!"

The morning sun rose above the trees, and I sighed, standing up and stretching to crack my back. I put my jacket back on, as I'd taken it off to use as a blanket, and looked toward Airi. She was asleep still, but I saw her egg begin to crack, and wiggle a little bit.

"Airi, Airi wake up!" I rushed her, getting to my knees and shaking her shoulder.

She woke up groggily, first looking at me and then her egg, rubbing her eyes and then realized that cracks in the shell were forming as it bounced a little bit and shifted. Airi set it down onto the ground between us, and we patiently yet excitedly looked at the hatching egg.

The top piece of the egg caved in on itself, inciting a struggled Pokemon call in slight frustration out of the egg. We saw the middle piece of the egg crack, and it broke outwards, and a small Pokemon jumped out.

Similar to how the egg's original appearance was, it was a light brown with darker brown spots centered around its face, with dusty blue fins to its left and right, along with atop the head and the entire tail.

Airi took out her Pokedex that Professor Cedar had no doubt given her, and analyzed the small fish Pokemon.

"Feebas – the fish Pokemon." Airi read aloud from her Pokedex screen.

"Creative." I chuckled. "Real good going there Cedar."

"Who cares about the creativity of the species system, my little Feebas is adorable!" Airi said, picking up the little fish Pokemon and hugging it tightly.

"Airi, I'd be careful, that Feebas is still a newborn. It's yet to grow and battle." I said. "Don't want to accidentally squeeze your Pokemon's health right out of it, would you?"

"Oh, no. You're right." Airi said, setting Feebas back down in front of her. She then felt her pocket – and then realized.

"Shit, we didn't buy any extra Pokeballs or supplies in the slightest at Slateport." Airi said.

"Crap, you're right. We should rush to that boating service, there's a Pokemon Mart we can buy stuff at in Oldale." I replied, groaning.

"Alright, Feebas, I can't put you in a Pokeball right now, so I'll have to carry you, but as soon as we get to Oldale Town, I will be able to." Airi said to the small newborn, picking it up in her arms.

We quickly packed up what we had set down, and came to the crossroad of Route 110, turning to the west – onto the eastern section of Route 103.

There was no one out since it was still early in the morning and we made it to the end of the straightforward path.

There was a small wooden cabin on the side of the lake with a couple of motorboats. There was a sign on the door, with black lettering on it.

"I'm currently out right now – if you want to rent a boat, and for these times only, Pokemon Trainers can ride free of charge." I read aloud. "Just scan your trainer identification on the motorboat engine scanner. It'll start. I think…trust me on it."

"Well isn't that convenient." Airi asked. "If our mistake of not buying any supplies hadn't happened, I'd think we were protected by some kind of plot armor."

"Plot armor?" I asked. "You mean the invisible appearance that basically prevents the main character of a show from having any bad luck on-screen?"

"Yeah, that." Airi chuckled.

We walked over to the boats and got into one, and I wonder what I'd have to use as my identification.

"Oh, I guess Cedar forgot to tell you." Airi said.

"Or I rushed off too quickly with Seth, anyways, what is it?" I asked.

"The Pokedex has a secondary mode that doubles it as a trainer I.D card." Airi said.

I brought out my Pokedex, and lo and behold, Airi was right. I tapped a little button on the screen that said my full name, and was sent to a trainer information screen. I put it up to the scanner atop the engine, and a green checkmark appeared on the screen.

The engine started after a few seconds, and we were passing over the lake at a regular speed. I sat down on the boat and looked at Airi, who had been petting Feebas, grooming the rough looking scales. Feebas had also been clearly enjoying it as well, as a relaxed smile was on the small Pokemon's face.

We made it to the other side of the lake after a bit of time, and the boat engine cut off as we pulled into the dock. We got onto solid ground, easier now to transition from boat to ground. We walked past the corresponding shack on the other side, and there was an electronic scanner, with another sign.

"If you're coming from my brother's shack, just scan your identification to return the boat and confirm purchase." I read.

I ran my I.D over the scanner and another green checkmark appeared as I pulled it away. Green text saying "Thanks for riding!" scrolled across the scanner, and we headed off.

"Well that was a fun ride." Airi said, still petting Feebas.

"It was definitely quicker than taking a boat across the ocean." I said. "Which would not only be a longer ride, it'd be another day or so before we'd hit land."

"Yeah, I prefer this choice." Airi said.

We set foot into Oldale Town, and instantly broke for the Pokemon Mart, walking in. After a clerk from the front desk greeted us into the store, we went around the multitude of aisles, and picked what we would need, stuff of which included Pokeballs, healing items like Potions, and a Berry container that doubled as a solar-energy blender. We also bought two bags – a backpack for me and a tote bag for Airi, to carry the split supplies in.

After we paid for our items – coming out to a total of 5000¥ - we left the store and departed for the Pokemon Center to relax.

Airi set Feebas on the table at the Center, and brought out one of her empty Pokeballs. She smiled, and Feebas smiled back cutely.

"Alright Feebas, from now on – you're officially a partner of mine to battle with. Here's to a long and fruitful friendship!" Airi said, tapping the Pokeball on the smiling fish Pokemon as a red laser-like light flashed from the ball and pulled Feebas into the ball. Airi set it on the table, the ball rocking side to side three times, before the red light that encompassed the release button disappeared.

"So our next game plan should be to hit up Littleroot right?" Airi asked.

"Yeah, why do you want to see the professor anyway?" I asked her.

"I just do – I mean, if we're going to explore the region and collect data for the professors, we should at least meet them when we hit the region." Airi said.

"That's actually a good idea. We wouldn't want to call the professors office through a computer at the center and spend like a half hour introducing ourselves." I said.

After we finished up at the Pokemon Center, we went further south to the route connecting Oldale and Littleroot. It was a simple grassy path with a couple of ledges one could hop down as a shortcut should you come from the northern town.

Airi and I took the shortcut down, reaching Littleroot in rough ten minutes, as opposed to taking the long way – which would extend time taken to twenty minutes at the least. We walked into the town and stopped to look around.

"The professor's lab should be just south of these houses." I said, as we stood between two houses.

"Oh, is that it there?" Airi asked, pointing a grayish-yellow brick building with a dusty yellow roof.

"That should be it, yeah." I said.

We walked around the building to the front door, knocking on it before the door was opened by an assistant.

"Oh, hey kids." The assistant said. "Professor Birch isn't in the building right now – in fact he's away in Petalburg right now with an old friend of his. He only gave me clearance to give out one starter while he was gone, so I have to reject your entrance."

"Oh, we already have Pokemon, we just wanted to meet him." I explained, as Airi and I flashed our Pokeballs and Pokedexes.

"Alright, well, maybe you can catch up to him in Petalburg if you want to speak with him." The assistant said.

"Gotcha." Airi said. "Thank you for telling us."

"Yep. Oh, and if you run into the kid that I gave a starter to, she chose the rarer Treecko we had. It was like an autumnal color, rather than the normal vibrant green." The assistant pondered. "Makes me wonder where Birch even got a Pokemon that was a different color than the rest of its species, but wasn't classified under the rarer title 'Shiny'."

After a bit more talking with the assistant, we left the lab and loitered at the edge of town, deciding what to do next.

"Well, guess the next objective is to hit up Petalburg. There's a gym leader there. His name is Norman." I said. "We can't challenge him yet though."

"Pray tell, why can't we?" Airi asked.

"Cause he's strong enough to the point you require four gym badges previously obtained from Rustboro, Dewford, Mauville, and Lavaridge." I said. "He won't even accept a single challenger if you don't – unless it's just a training match with the budding learners of the city."

"Well, then we best get four gym badges, because I want to fight him already." Airi said, ecstatic.

"Slow your roll, gym leaders are powerful characters in their own right. They're leaders, not followers, for a reason." I said.

"Yeah, I know that. So let's get going. Our real first stop in that case is Rustboro City." Airi said. "Right?"

"Yep, you got it. Let's get going." I said.

 **Well, as said at the beginning: Jumpcuts. To prevent the entire story being over 100 chapters for just one region, I'll be jumping between one point and the next – and the chapter will go from there. From here on out – unless the chapters hold an extremely important plot piece, where one chapter ends and another begins will not be the same. Sorry if you don't like that, it's just how it's gotta be since we're covering the entire Pokemon World in one story.**


End file.
